CALL TO ACTION

If we are to pass liability reform it will only be because of our grassroots efforts. Legislators need to hear from you. This week our focus is on the Senate.

Please contact your Senator and tell them to vote YES on SB 5728. And because we need to track correspondence to legislators, please copy either your membership organization or the Liability Reform Coalition on your letter or email.

Don't know the name of your Senator? Our Senate Page will show you how to find him/her.

LAWSUIT OF THE WEEK
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A jury rejected a man's claims he should be compensated for a sleep disorder suffered since was served the wrong soup at a restaurant.
Donald Johnson, 64, sought $55,356 from the Shoney's restaurant chain. The jury instead awarded him $407 for medical bills.

Johnson, of Lake Worth, said he had to have emergency medical treatment in 1995 after eating clam chowder when he had ordered potato soup. He said an allergic reaction left him with psychological and sleep disorders.
He rejected a $1,000 settlement in 1999.

"I thought it was a silly case," Shoney's attorney, Charles Rice, said Tuesday.
Rice argued during the trial that Johnson's anxiety might stem from other experiences, including a prison term for sexual activity with a child under 12 and his public listing as a sexual predator.

The six-person jury decided after the four-day trial that Johnson was 90 percent negligent, reducing Shoney's share of the medical bills to $407.

See the January 22nd Liability Reform Review